Henry Puffer Volume 1: The Elixir of Life

by MLbowling

Henry Puffer is snatched away from his mundane life and discovers he's a wizard. Now he can start anew at Harnock's School of Witchcraft and Wizardry where he will meet fellow first-years Jon Parsley and Esmani Ghadjer. Not is all well and whimsical at the school as rumors brew of the Unmentionable One, Lord Mormobius, stealing something important...

6. The Journey to Platform 3 and a Half

Harry had hoped that the following month of August would go by quickly back in the care of the Dooflys. It didn't. It was slow and wasn't a joy in the slightest. One good thing that came of it was that Curtis was now so terrified of Henry he could barely stand six feet from him without starting to shake. Henry would guess that in Curtis' mind, the short trip to Caster's Alley was the initiation and now Henry was a full blown spell casting warlock. He never corrected or eased his cousin's mind to that notion.

Aunt Daisy and Uncle Vincent did not lock him in the coat closet and he was still able to keep the second bedroom as well. They didn't really shout at him or point out his shortcomings or do any of the other nasty things they once had done just a couple of weeks earlier. In fact, they completely just acted as if Henry was invisible. Aunt Daisy would not even set a plate for Henry at the table. It was an improvement at first, being unbothered by their constant torment. But after a while, it became a bit depressing.

For how nice of an August it had been that year, Henry spent most of it in his little room. He was glad to have his new pet owl for company. He decided to call him Magus which was an ancient level in one of his history texts from wizards dating back to the middle ages! In fact, all of his school books were very interesting. He would lay on his bed all day reading late into the night. This is coming from a kid who was never a really big reader. The pre-caster Henry took to outside and would go to parks to play or hang out by himself. Books would always make him antsy and trapped because there was no (at that time) way to escape his prison-like life. But now, with the luxury of knowing his life was about to get more interesting than any book, he decided he'd read up on it! Aunt Daisy had had enough of the "dreadful, terrifying beast" that occupied Henry's room so she no longer came in there for anything. It was perfect because he could keep his window open for Magus to fly in and out and he could deposit his pellets without Aunt Daisy screaming at him. Each night before he closed his eyes, he would put a big red 'X' on the date on the August calendar. He was so excited for September first it almost felt like a second birthday.

August 30th came and Henry knew he would have to talk to his aunt and uncle about a ride to Ravendancer Station. He knew he shouldn't have procrastinated but the Dooflys ignored him on their own volition and as the days ticked closer to September, they started ignoring him when he outright addressed them. Gathering all of his courage to the forefront of his heart, Henry marched downstairs where Aunt Daisy and Uncle Vincent were watching a comedy program on the television.

"Erm...Uncle Vincent?" Henry cleared his throat to alert his presence.

Uncle Vincent grunted and grumbled to show he was at least listening.

"I need to go to Ravendancer Station tomorrow. There is a railway there that takes students like me to Harncocks."

Aunt Daisy wheezed and Uncle Vincent shifted with the most hardened look on his face.

"Could you give me a ride, then?"

Another grunt from his uncle means a yes, right?

"Why a train? Magic carpets seem more like their sort. Or maybe they just evaporate and arrive at the fantasy school!" Uncle Vincent finally showed true aggravation and the most words he had spoken to Henry that whole month.

Henry just breathed through it. One wrong word and his chances of getting there could vanish just like an evaporating wizard.

"Where is this school?" Aunt Daisy spat.

"I don't really know," replied Henry. The revelation made him just a bit nervous. He pulled his ticket from his back pocket that Hagish had given him. Aunt Daisy began to chuckle dryly with not an ounce of humor at Henry's fumbling. "You will look like an utter prat when you find this is all fake."

"It says right here, Aunt Daisy," Henry said slowly and politely, "I take the trolley from platform three and a half at eleven o' clock tomorrow morning," he finished reading the ticket.

His aunt and uncle's jaws both dropped.

"Platform what?"

"Trolley?" They said at the exact same time.

"Three and a half, that's the platform," he answered, "and yes...a...trolley…?" He ended that answer on a question feeling his ears get red. He knew what they were going to say next.

"Don't talk rubbish. There is no trolley station called Ravendancer in Newcrest." Uncle Vernon's lips were turned into a smile so sinister it looked like a grimace.

"You are an absolute git, Henry," Aunt Daisy supplied. "Ravendancer is a train station. Trollies and trains are not the same thing and they use different tracks."

"Don't even get me started on that whale of a platform!" Uncle Vincent was beginning to laugh and Henry was beginning to see red. "What was it, boy? Nine and three quarters?!"

"Three and one half," Henry said through gritted teeth.

Uncle Vincent lost it and began to cackle.

"They're all cancerous! Barking mad! The whole group of them! You'll see, you imbecile. I will drive you just to watch your face fall when you realize this is all a big laugh at your sorry expense. In fact, it'll be nice to get out of the house so when you get left there we can head right over to mum's favorite restaurant to have a family dinner with Curtis before his term starts...without you."

Henry could barely sleep and he would not allow himself to buy into his aunt and uncle. Henry had seen the Realm of Magic. He had seen Caster's Alley and all of the wonderful shops and people. He had ridden in the mine carts and traveled in the caves under Bingpott's. This was all real. Sure it was strange but if the magical realm was to be kept secret it would naturally have this peculiar way to get to its magical school.

He awoke at four thirty the next morning too excited to even sleep a wink. The constant churning of excitement bleeding into the nausea of nerves almost overwhelmed him. With shaking hands, he got dressed in his jeans, T-shirt, and a light jacket. He surmised dawning wizard wear was probably frowned upon with Normies around. The rest of the morning while he waited for the Dooflys to wake was just mind busying tasks.

He checked his supply list five times over again, made sure Magus' cage was locked and clean, all of his books were packed and in order, his trunk of clothes was neat and orderly (Hagish was right, the other two pairs of robes were at his door when he returned to the Doofly's that day). Now all that was left to do was pace his bedroom. Two hours and some odd minutes later, Henry's trunk was loaded into the car by a wheezing Uncle Vincent. Henry tried to help but he did not have the strength or sheer body mass such as his uncle for the job. Aunt Daisy handed the caged Magus to Henry with a grimace and he sat side by side with his cousin in the backseat who was looking as white as a sheet.

They reached Ravendancer Station at a quarter of ten. This was making very good time, Henry decided. Uncle Vincent made Henry fetch a cart and the trunk, some bags, a backpack, and Magus were loaded upon it. His uncle even pushed the heavy cart for him which made Henry very suspicious. His uncle never did something so kindly for him. Then he understood why.

They reached the busy train station and the Dooflys and Henry walked at a pretty quick pace to both platforms three and four. Curtis began to cackle, Aunt Daisy let out a single guffaw, and Uncle Vincent was wheezing with antagonizing mirth.

"Well, well, wizard boy. There's Platform three...and there's Platform four. Your platform should be right smack dab in the middle, should it not?" He put both hands on his cheek and spoke very slow and mockingly. "But wait...OH NO...I. Don't. SEE. A Platform Three and a Half."

"Maybe it's not built yet, daddy," Curtis joined in, which earned him a jolly smack on the back for encouragement from Uncle Vincent.

"Perhaps it's not, my boy!"

No.

Henry would not let his heart sink like this.

There was a huge metal three over one platform and a huge metal four over the other platform. There was nothing in the middle. Just a stone wall that made the support arches for the station. When Henry turned to address his uncle, his jaw dropped when he saw their retreating backs. Uncle Vincent turned just in time, with people milling passed him making him come in and out of view.

"Have a magical first term," he sneered over the din of the station. He turned on his heel. The last thing Henry heard was his booming voice yards away shout. "Now, family? WHO'S hungry?" Henry knew they were driving away. He knew all three of them were laughing. What was he going to do? A young boy alone with an owl was becoming too strange and unfamiliar to even the most irrational folk. He was drawing attention. He was going to have to talk to strangers. He was going to have to ask.

"Excuse me, sir?" Henry asked a guard. At the sight of an unaccompanied child, the guard sat up straighter from his post. He looked Henry up and down.

"Do you know where," Henry didn't dare mention Platform Three and a Half. "Do you know where," he started again, "Harnocks school is. Er...I mean the platform that takes me to Harnocks?"

"Harnocks?" The guard said. "What world is that in?"

Henry knew not to say something like the Magical Realm.

"Er...I'm not sure…"

"Listen kid, go ask your parents and quit wasting my time. Tell your buddies you're trying to impress that annoying guards is not a way to be cool."

"Sir, this is not a prank. Which train leaves at 11, sir?" Henry tried a different approach.

"There. IS. No. Train that leaves at 11," he then got up from his post and strode away. Mumbling of pranks and disrespectful 'youths.' Henry tried his hardest not to panic. He was an eleven year old boy in a packed train station with nowhere to go. The large clock on the wall said 10:30 which gave him only thirty minutes to lug a cart he could barely push with a trunk he couldn't lift, bags full of questionable items, a backpack with textbooks that could get him arrested, and an actual living owl.

The dark feeling bubbled in him. It only seemed to happen when he thought of the Doofly family. This was a mistake! Hagish must have left out something. He told Henry to follow the instructions on the ticket but where is Platform Three and a Half? Was it something like tapping the bricks on the patio of Waylon's Haunt to get into Caster's Alley? Maybe if he put his hand on the stone of the archway it would recognize him as a caster kid and let him...in?

"...crawling with clueless Normies! You know the sort…"

Henry whipped around to see where the random voice was coming from. If this person was speaking of Normies...they knew what a Normie was. And if they knew what a Normie was they must be a caster! The speaker was a jolly, chubby woman about mom age. Her dark brown hair was cut to her chin and stuck out in ways that were probably fashionable for ladies but Henry wouldn't know. He couldn't be sure, but he thought her coal black eyes may have met his for a millisecond. Henry blinked and looked on as well as eavesdropped.

She was talking to what looked like three boys and two girls. Henry didn't know much about traditional families but they all looked to be the mom aged woman's children. As he got closer, his theory was even more confirmed by the way she was talking to them.

"Now, what's the platform number?" Said the mother. Each kid was pushing a trunk...and they had an owl! Henry's heart raced as he pushed passed grumbling people to get closer.

"Three and one half," said the smallest girl. She looked to be about Henry's age. She had the same dark brown hair as her mother but it was long and pulled into two braids that fell over her shoulders. Those same deep, dark eyes shined with excitement at her correct answer and praise from her mother.

"Too bad you're not going," what looked to be the eldest boy snipped. He was tall and lanky. His skin was pale and it didn't match his mother's or his sister's. He also had coal black hair slicked and coiffed very neatly and orderly. He adjusted his glasses under his narrow eyes and straightened his bowtie.

"Perry! That's not how you treat your sister, she will be going next year and every child needs to know these things!" Did Henry's ears deceive him or did this mother really say that one part pretty loud. Henry was now right behind them. He was sure they didn't notice him but wouldn't be bothered if they did. They seemed like nice folk save for the dweeby, snooty older brother. Henry didn't like how his comment made the little girl's face fall.

"Well! Go on then Snoot Boy, if you're so bold!" The other girl in the family said. She had way lighter hair than her mother or younger sister. It was still brown and it was tied in a huge messy, curly bun on the top of her head. She also wore glasses. When the boy known as Perry grumbled, Henry liked how both girls smiled so happy and warm. It was very nice to see.

Henry watched as the boy known as Perry marched right toward the platform three and four. "Don't blink," Henry told himself but just as the boy reached that dividing stone arch, a throng of tourists from Sulani blocked Henry's view and Henry wanted to cry out. When they cleared. The boy was gone.

"Matthew, or Jack? I reckon you can't go at the same time," the mother said to the older girl and another son who was stocky with blazing green eyes. He was even old enough to have a stubble beard.

"Maybe they can hold hands," the youngest sister sing-songed and Henry felt his nose wrinkle. This...maybe wasn't a family he wanted to acquaint with. A sister named Jack and a brother and sister holding hands and…

Oh.

The messy bun 'Jack' pecked Matthew on the lips lovingly and he ran straight towards the stone arch. He was there. Then he wasn't.

"Stay out of trouble, you two," the mother said to the girl with the messy bun.

"I can promise your son will be out of trouble but meeee...eh…" Comically the girl put her hands in a shrug and moved her head back and forth. The mother playfully rolled her eyes with a smile and watched as the girl followed who Henry now realized was her boyfriend. That's why she didn't look like the others. That made sense.

"I really like her for him," the littlest girl pointed out and her mother nodded.

It was time to buck up.

"Ma'am? Excuse me," Henry said to the chubby mother aged woman. The little sister that was too young to go squeaked and shied away behind her mom.

"Why hello there, little dearie," she responded with the kindest eyes Henry had ever seen. Yes they were dark, but there was a warmth in those heavy lidded eyes. The boldness really showed over her tanned skin. He noticed her face was all freckled against her wrinkles. She had many beauty marks on her skin as well. Henry was embarrassed to be paying this close of attention to someone's facial features but it was so nice to see someone other than Hagish that actually looked like a normal Sim! (No offense to Hagish).

"I'm betting you're a first timer to Harnocks? My boy Jon is new too." The third brother definitely looked to be Henry's age.

He was tall and lanky just like his brother Perry. His eyes were angular and almond shaped. Deep, coal black like his mother and sister's. His hair was cut short at the top of his head and his skin was so pale it looked white. Or maybe he was just as nervous as Henry was. His freckles matched his mother's and he had a very thin nose.

"Yes and I'm...I...I don't know…"

"How to get onto the platform?" she filled in sweetly as Henry nodded. "Not to worry, sweetheart. It's very easy. It's like stepping through a magical archway. All you have to do is just walk straight up to that stone archway between platform three and four. Don't stop for anything and don't be scared that you'll crash and break your nose. That's very important. I told all my children that if you're too nervous, just get a running start. Jon, dear? Let this young man go before you so we can make sure he gets through alright."

"Yes, mom," Jon replied.

Unsure, Henry looked at his packed cart and made sure it was all secure. He was going to go with the running start advice. The stone was daunting. It looked a little too solid for his liking. Maybe he expected that gaseous/liquid from the magical arch he had seen at Waylon's Haunt. Little by little, he put one foot in front of the other so he was at a walk, then he was at a trot, and then he broke into a bit of a run. The stone wall was coming closer…

Closer…

Closer…

He was now so close that the wheels of the cart were wobbling and Henry wouldn't be able to stop it if he tried. This was it. He was either going to successfully go through or break his face. He hunkered his frame down over the handle of his cart and tensed his face bracing for impact.

It never came.

He kept running and opened his eyes.

A platform with tons of people milling about as they waited. Henry could feel a grin forming as he looked at the tracks below the platform.

Trolley tracks.

A sign above him said Harnocks Express, eleven o' clock. Henry looked behind him and saw another one of those white, marble archways with the glowing symbols. The greens and purples of that flowing magical aurora was all that was between the arch. To Platform Three and One Half was printed on a sign overhead. Henry did it! He made it to the platform!

In the back of his mind, he wished the boy who was to go after him a safe passage through. At the forefront of his mind was taking in the sights!

"Granny! I've lost my toad!"

"Taryn my dear girl, you'd forget your head if it wasn't screwed on tight."

A throng of boys were giggling.

The boy in the middle with dark skin and braids in his hair giggled the hardest as he showed his friends a tarantula.

"Jeremy! How'd a first year like you get that as your familiar?"

At that Henry realized that every kid that looked close to his age had on street clothes. Jeans, T-shirts, hoodies. But if he looked around longer he saw that older kids (and now that he remembered the older kids in that kind family from the station too) had...colors.

Burgundy, navy, yellow, and green.

Scarfs, hats...mostly scarfs of these colors.

They were already put into their Houses, Henry realized.

Henry walked a few steps with his cart. His whole body gave a jolt when a voice came on an announcing speaker:

"Attention wizards, witches, warlocks, and casters. The time now is a quarter till eleven. The Harnocks Express will be descending in thirty seconds. Please board immediately after you hear the first whistle. Mind the gap between the trolley and the platform. Have a wonderful term Harnocks students!"

"Descending?" thought Henry.

BA-BA-BOOM! TOOT TOOT!

It sounded like a sonic boom broke the sound barrier way up in the sky! Henry's watched people all turn their heads skyward. Some shielded their eyes from the sun. Henry followed and felt his jaw drop almost instantly.

It started as a black dot in the sky but slowly through the clouds a big object came barreling towards the station. It's descent was gradual but with velocity and when it was about 200 yards up away Henry realized it was an olive green trolley.

An olive green flying trolley.

BA-BA-BOOM! TOOT TOOT!

BA-BA-BOOM! TOOT TOOT!

BA-BA-BOOM! TOOT TOOT!

Three more trolleys had broken through the clouds and people let their hands fall from their foreheads as they relaxed their craning necks. This was a wonderment! They didn't even have wings or engines. It just was...flying! No rhyme or reason to it. Apart from magic that is. The sun glinted off the windows and Henry realized that a bunch of caster children were speaking his very thoughts.

"Are we all going to fit into just four trollies, sis? There's like 1,000 of us on the platform alone!"

"How do they fly, mama? How do they fly?"

"I wanted the red one my first year, daddy! It's for luck to get into Alppagard! I don't want Ivybell. This is rubbish!"

Henry's head whipped to see a first year (denoted by their lack of colorful scarf) waving a ticket towards whom Henry assumed was his father.

"Son I told you, once you are in the air the portals can take you to whichever color trolley you want. Also, the color of trollies doesn't have a thing to do with what House you're put into.

All four trolley carts dipped and leveled to be parallel with the tracks below. Then, steam billowed from underneath as they gently lowered until their wheels met the track in a flourish of sparks. A bit of screeching made some people cringe but it wasn't too ostentatious.

"Which color are you picking?"

"I did green last year! I'm thinking blue, c'mon!"

"I'm telling you Jordan, red has the comfier seats, I swear by it!"

TOOT TOOT!

Four trolley carts whistled signalling boarding was now beginning. Henry saw families hugging and kissing. Some kids were already in their seats and speaking to friends and loved ones from the open windows.

Henry could pick green, rusty brown, red, or blue. His arms began to throb from the weight of the contents of his cart. The green was in the front and that's the one he decided he'd go. As he got closer he realized this trolley was bigger and longer than things you'd see in the Old Town down by Sims Lane. These had compartments and train-like seating. The travel to the school must be lengthy, Henry assumed. Once he got to the gap between the trolley and the platform, a ramp magically extended to meet him. It was a small incline, but daunting to the very weak Henry Puffer.

"Ya need some elbow grease?" It was the messy bun girl from Ravendancer Station! Up close, Henry noticed she had piercing amber eyes and a small, plump nose.

"Yes, please," Henry all but gasped.

"Matt! Come here and help me help this friend!" The stocky boy with the stubble came over and Henry realized how big his arms were. He could probably tackle anyone in a game of football.

With the two older kids' help, Henry's cart was up into the trolley.

Was it possible that this trolley was bigger on the inside? IS that possible?

"It's jarring, kid, but you get used to it," the girl crossed her eyes and faked losing balance to illustrate what she was saying. As she laughed at herself, she extended a small hand towards Henry. "My name is Jaclyn. Jack for short." Her hand was extremely cold Henry noticed.

"Thank you, for the help," Henry turned and noticed his trunk was put up in a compartment by the boy known as Matt. Henry hadn't asked him to do that. How very kind! Quietly, the older boy pointed to his own forehead with a look of confusion.

"Woah! Matt you're right! Hey, friendo how'd you get that scar? AH! I mean...if you want to tell me. You obviously don't have to if you don't want to. Matt's eyes went wide and Jack seemed to read his expression. "Holy sh...shrink wrap...are YOU Henry Puffer?"

"What?" Henry said dumbly, thinking too long on Jack's horrible attempt to censor herself for the sake of Henry. He's heard Uncle Vincent and Aunt Daisy swear plenty of times.

"Henry Puffer!" Jack said and Matt put his hand over his mouth in shock.

"Oh yes...that...baby..was...me…?" Henry wasn't doing so hot with his words.

The two older kids stared at him and it was making Henry uncomfortable. Then, to his relief, a familiar voice spoke from outside on the platform through the trolley's open window.

"Matt? Jack? I have one more thing to tell you!" Henry looked out the window to see the chubby motherly figure standing on the platform with her hand clasped tightly in the little girl's.

"Coming, Mom."

"Coming, Maggie."

With a last, lingering look at Henry, the couple hopped off the trolley. Matt had Henry's cart empty and took it for him. He didn't have to do that. With unsure movement, Henry slinked into the compartment that Matt had packed his trunk into. It was perfect because the window was already open and if Henry hunkered down just a tad, he was able to be out of sight but still be able to watch and eavesdrop on the Ravendancer Station family.

"In case I wasn't clear, I want you two to stay out of trouble," the mother was speaking to Matt and Jack. She had Jon by her side now. His collared shirt was eskew and she bent to roughly straighten it as she kept talking to the older two. Jon was fidgeting and protesting in mortification. "I'm serious. Jaclyn I would hate to get a screecher from your mother about what you and Matthew got up to at that school." Jack rolled her eyes not in defiance, but easily and natural. Matt was giving his mother a thumbs up and Jack was talking quickly.

"Mrs. Parsley If you're referring to the catapult I was barely involved. Matt was doing an extracurricular and…"

"You were behind it and I won't be convinced otherwise," Mrs. Parsley said sternly but somehow with a ghost of a smile. Jon finally broke free and pouted at his mother.

"Hey? Where's Perry?" He said and put his hands on his thin waist.

"We'll know soon enough when people start running in the opposite direction," Matt said quietly which made his girlfriend put her knuckle out to first bump it. Mrs. Parsley swatted both of the back of their heads.

The lankiest, oldest brother came striding forward like there was air beneath his feet. His head was held high and his burgundy scarf billowed behind him beneath his upturned nose. He was in his school robes. A burgundy patch was on the right breast and just below that was a gold plated pin that read something Henry couldn't see that far away.

"Attention wizards, witches, warlocks, and casters. The time now is ten till eleven. The Harnocks Express will be ascending in ten minutes. Please board immediately on the trolley of your choosing hastily. Mind the gap between the trolley and the platform. Have a wonderful term Harnocks students!"

"Mother! Don't make me late! I get to be up front in whichever trolley I choose. I'm a

Princep this year," he said and gestured to the gold pin on his robe. Henry assumed it said princep on it, "and I'm going to reap the benefits! Like the first two compartments all to ourselves. The other princeps and I, of course!"

"Wait, YOU'RE a princep, Perry?" Jack put her hands to her cheeks so fast and hard it actually made a smack sound.

"I couldn't tell, you haven't told us," Matt continued, hiding a grin.

"Maybe there was that one time…" Jack said.

"Or that time every hour…" Matt supplied.

"Wasn't it every minute?"

"Preeeetty sure it was every Watcher forsaken second, actually."

"Shut up, you two," said Perry the Princep. Was that something special at school? Sounded like it could be. Maybe it was like a teacher's pet or something?

"Is that why he gets new robes, mom?" Jon asks.

"Yes dear, and if you make princep you can get new robes too. Now go! Off you pop!" Perry and Jon began to board the very same trolley Henry had chosen. As the couple turned to leave Maggie ensnared them both by the back of their collars.

"NO. Owls this year. I don't want to see a single one telling me you've engineered a toilet to flush backwards...or...or...blew up a toilet…!"

"Hey! We've never blown up a toilet," Jack exclaimed, "that I know of," she added in a low voice. Matt was just laughing along with her.

"It's not funny. And Matthew, look after your brother."

"Don't worry mom, Jon boy is safe with us." Matt hooked his elbow through one arm of Jon and Jack hooked her arm around Jon's other arm. Once the two older kids stood up straight Jon was hoisted in the air. He kicked and flailed. A bunch of insults falling from his mouth. The older kids let him down and Jon crossed his arm. He nearly stood as tall as his stocky brother. If he used his tip toes, they'd be nose to nose.

"Mrs. Pasley, did you see us help the Henry Puffer on the trolley?" It would seem that perhaps this girl wanted to leave her boyfriend's mother in some sort of good graces. The boy in question shoved his back as far as he could against his seat. He didn't want to be caught eavesdropping.

"The blonde boy with the glasses?" The mother asked and Matt nodded.

"That was really him?! Oh please, mother, can I say hello to him?" The youngest sister who had been pretty quiet up until then exclaimed.

"He's not a zoo animal my sweet dear," Mrs. Parsley gently scolded. "Jack? Are you sure it was him that you saw? Plenty of boys his age milling about."

"Well one...we asked him...two...he had the scar and all," Jack replied.

"A plumbob. Right here. Plain as day," Matt said pointing to his own forehead.

"Poor little dear...no wonder he was all alone at the station. What a polite young man he was. No guidance at all. Thank you both for being so helpful to him. He's in for a real treat if this is the first he's been immersed into the Realm."

"Do you think he remembers the Unmentionable One? What he looks like?"

"Jaclyn Eliza! I forbid you from asking that poor little boy such things. He doesn't need the weight of all that on his first day of school, you hear me?"

"I gotcha, I gotcha, no need to blow a gasket," Jack pumped her hands cool and calm.

"Attention wizards, witches, warlocks, and casters. The time now is five minutes till eleven. The Harnocks Express will be ascending in five minutes. You should now very well be in your seats ready to travel. Mind the gap between the trolley and the platform. Have a wonderful term Harnocks students!"

"Hurry!" Mrs. Parsley ushered the kids along. The younger sister began to tear up.

"Don't worry sis, we'll send plenty of owls," Matt told her.

"Or perhaps a blown up toilet seat?"

"Jaclyn!"

"It's only a joke, Maggie!"

TOOT! TOOT!

The trolley began to vibrate and shake. Henry saw the boys' mother waving and the sister was feeling better enough to be grinning. Tears still brimmed her eyes. It didn't feel like it from where he was sitting, but he watched the mother and sister's heads begin to tilt up and up and Henry realized he was going up and up. The trolley was flying! It lurched forward and Henry almost fell out of his seat. The trolley was no longer going straight up. Instead, it was beginning to climb in the sky and he could no longer see the mother or the little girl. He just saw a town below him and sky above him.

The compartment door slid open and the boy Henry knew to be Jon poked his head in.

"Is there anyone sitting here?" He asked. His finger was pointing at the seat across from Henry. "Everywhere is full and I don't want to be in the same compartment as my brother and his girlfriend," the young boy shuddered which made Henry smile.

The boy took that as his answer and made himself comfortable. It disappointed Henry a little bit that the first real person close to his age didn't really even want to talk. Jon took to just staring at the window. Both boys jumped when the door slid open.

Jack's head peaked in first, then Matt's right above it.

"There you are! Glad you're settled," Jack turned to Henry, "Henry, good to know you as always. Don't let this goob spread indecent things about me and Matt. We have a lot to do down at the middle of the trolley."

"There's a tarantula and a scorpion," Matt said faintly.

"Yeah! A tarantula AND a scorpion. We make the most of this time, Henry. We don't get to be together in the beginning bits. Grand Hall separates us by Houses even as we eat and all that," as Jack talked, Henry noticed that the couple had changed into school robes. Jaclyn's robe had a navy blue patch with an owl in the middle. Matt's robe had a burgundy colored patch with a llama in the middle.

They were in different Houses.

The compartment door slid closed upon the couple's exit when Jon finally burst.

"ARE YOU REALLY HENRY PUFFER?"

Henry could only nod. Glad that the boy's silence was in curiosity and not aloofness.

"I...I was beginning to think it was a Jack and Matt trick," Jon paused but looked hopeful and courageous enough to continue, "and the scar…?"

He pointed at Henry's head with his lower lip between his teeth.

"Yep! Got it right here," Henry said and pulled his hair back.

"Woah...rad," Jon gasped. "My name is Jon Parsley, by the way."

"Good to meet you," Henry nodded.

"And the uh…," Jon twirled his long finger by his own head, "that's where The Unmentionable One uh…"

"Yeah...though I can't remember it. Babies aren't really able to do that yet." It was amazing to watch something Henry said to someone else crack that person up. He wasn't used to making others laugh.

"Not a thing?" Jon asked once his laughter subsided.

"Nope! Maybe some green light...but who knows?" Henry shrugged.

"Wow," Jon trailed off in awe. He sat before Henry and the two stared at each other for a few moments. In a snap, Jon must have remembered what his mother said. He fidgeted and straightened his back and looked a bit sheepish. His attempt to act casual was punctuated by him faking looking out the window again. All there was now was clouds to look at. It nearly made Henry laugh. He decided to break the ice.

"I'm just a person, you know," he said and Jon met his eyes again.

"A downright legendary one," Jon supplied.

"Are all your family members wizards, though?" Henry wanted to know. He suspected Jon didn't know that Henry thought Jon was just as legendary as Jon thought Henry was.

"That I know of. Mom and dad are. And all of my siblings and aunts and uncles and cousins...mom may have a second cousin once removed that does taxes but...he's not mentioned at many get togethers." Wow. Get togethers! With family!

"So do you know loads and loads of magic already! Ten years to practice it and all that!" Henry was excited but a bit down trying to prepare himself for the jealousy that was engulfing him once Jon showed him a wicked spell or trick. Henry didn't know how to explain it, but he could just feel that the Parsley family may be one of those Ancient Blood families the bratty girl in the robe store was babbling on about.

"Not really...most caster kids don't even realize they can cast until they are five or so. It's...I'm very bad at explaining but...it's like...you know when you're born you can walk but you just can't yet?" Jon was gesturing wildly but Henry actually sort of understood. "It's like that. Some kids may be able to move things, jump far, even teleport short distances but...the actual act of casting spells and doing magic comes when you're ready...about our age. My sister Whinnie is actually showing pretty early. She already knows one spell and she's still nine."

Henry was hit with images of the cafeteria and the strange happenings while living with the Dooflys. Henry wasn't a weirdo...he was showing his magical abilities! He had so many questions! Whinnie must be that younger sister on the platform! Which spell did she know? But Jon was talking now.

"Rumor has it you had to live with a Normie family," Jon situated his legs from underneath him, "what was that like?"

"Terrible!" Henry exclaimed. "I mean, not all Normies are terrible but. My aunt, uncle, and cousin were. "My aunt was my mom's sister. She's a Normie but my mother wasn't. I'm pretty sure my dad was a pure caster."

"That's some pretty cool mix you've got," Jon said thoughtfully.

"Not when you didn't even know! I might as well have been Normie born!" Henry sighed and threw himself backward dramatically. "I wish I had two wizard brothers and a wizard sister!"

"Four brothers," Jon says with an air of gloom. "I'm the last boy in the family to go to Harnocks. And boy do I have a reputation to follow. My brother Burt and Carl have already graduated and gotten jobs. Burt was Lead Boy his year and Carl was a huge defender on his Grilled Cheese Dueling team. He was captain right from the get go. Now Perry was just made a princep. Matt is seriously smart and kind to everyone. He also gets really good grades and has a lot of friends through Jack. No matter how good I do something I'll never be first at it, ya know? I'm still expected to do really good, though." Jon flops down and backwards just as Henry had done. "Look at me! I've got Burt's old robes, Carl's old wand, and Perry's old rat!" He opened his robe to show a bulge in one of the inside pockets.

"He doesn't even do much. Just sleeps or scuttles about inside my pocket. Perry gave him up when he was given an owl from dad for making princep status. He spent a lot of savings doing…" Jon clamped his mouth shut and his cheeks went a bit pink.

Henry understood what it was like not to have a lot of money. He knew all too well Jon's situation. He had to have everything handed down from Curtis. He told Jon all of this which seemed to perk his new acquaintance up.

He then immediately remembered Juan Lignum.

"Hey Jon, but I thought the wand chooses the wizard. You can't even use family member's wands?" Jon rolled his eyes. Not at Henry. But at the upcoming explanation of his situation.

"Carl needed one that could withstand heat for his job. So off he went to Mister Lignum's and relinquished his wand. Mister Lignum did all of his funny tests and measurements and a new wand chose him. I go to the shop years and years later and guess which wand chose me?" Henry felt a lot of sympathy for Jon. "That's right! I don't even get my own wand. Mom, dad, and Mister Lignum all thought it was just the greatest thing. I didn't hear the end of it from Matt and Jack."

"That's another thing," Henry began, "Jack...she's obviously your brother's girlfriend but...she hangs around like...like she's family…?" Henry was immediately chagrined.

"She basically is, actually," Jon said. She comes from a Normie family. Both her parents are Normies. And they're mean. I've never met them but the way Jack talks about them makes my skin crawl. They reject all things magic." As Jon spoke, Henry could really empathize with Jack. It made him like her even more.

"She met Matt their first year. On the trolley just like you and me now," Jon continued. "They were friends for a long time. Our mom just sort of...mothered her. She was over a lot during the summer and during holidays. Then one day during their third year it just...happened. They just started dating. My parents were over the moon...some of our more traditional extended family were...not. Being as she's not wizarding ancient blood. But she's very nice and very funny. The two are such a pair I don't really remember life without her being next to Matt. Carl says it's basically just a wedding to make what we're already all feeling legal," Jon shrugged at the end of his explanation and Henry was floored with how familiale the Parsley's really are.

"I can really relate to her, Henry responds. "My aunt and uncle reject all things magical too. I didn't know a thing until I met Hagish. I didn't know anything about being a caster or about my parents or Mormobius…"

Jon gasped as if Henry had pinched him

"What? What did I say?" Hoping Henry was not ruining his shot at making a friend.

"You said...the Unmentionable One's name!" Jon said it slowly and accusingly. Though Jon sounded a bit scared, he also sounded a bit impressed with Henry. "I would have thought...for what he did to you and your family you...you, know," Jon gesticulated frantically.

"See what I mean, Jon?" Henry sighed dramatically again. I'm not trying to be tough or whatever! I didn't even know a month ago you shouldn't even say his name! I've got so much to learn...I'm no better than a Normie born! Watch and see I'll be," he couldn't finish so he tried again… "I'll be…" squeezing his eyes shut, he said the last bit in a whisper, "the worst in the class probably."

"That's crap and you know it! There are tons of kids who come from Normie born families and they learn just as quick! Look at Jack!" Jon crossed his arms as if Henry really did offend his real sister. Henry was a bit ashamed.

"You're right," Henry mumbled. He then turned his gaze out the window. They were flying, yes, but Henry could still see fields full of cows, sheep, and goats. He could see houses and country roads with one or two cars lazily driving completely unaware of the magic going on above their heads. Jon must be doing the same, for both boys were quiet. It was easy and not awkward. Henry decided that he quite liked Jon Parsley.

At around twelve thirty that was a twump sound like in the movies when mail goes up those suction tubes in office buildings. Then, it was followed by squeaking wheels. The squeaking stopped right outside Henry and Jon's compartment and the door slid open. An older woman with dimples and gray hair peaked in and quickly waved at the two boys, and then down towards her cart.

"Anything off the cart, loves?" She asked warmly.

Henry immediately realized he hadn't eaten breakfast and wasn't ashamed when his stomach gurgled loudly. It made him and the lady with the cart chuckle. With a smile, Henry turned to his new friend and dropped his merry attitude when he saw just exactly how Jon was taking this.

He was hunched closer to the window, trying not to make eye contact with the cart or the lady pushing it. He was mumbling words about how he had sandwiches but his cheeks were very pink. Henry stepped out into the corridor.

He didn't know how he knew...maybe he just recognized a kid his age wanting something so badly and knowing he wasn't able to afford it or get it for himself. Just two months prior Henry wouldn't even have dreamed he'd have enough money to buy anything for himself. The Magicoins in Henry's pocket felt heavier somehow. With the Dooflys, Curtis always got something and Henry had to watch him eat it, or play with it, or destroy it, and then beg for something new.

A wild gesture took hold of Henry's heart. He did like Jon Parsley and even though Henry wasn't very experienced at making and keeping friends, he knew most boys liked sweets. So with hungry eyes, Henry scanned the cart for things like a gooey nut log, a chunky nougat surprise, a sblonked...maybe even a rollie loellie snack cake…? Henry's face fell when he realized there were no Normie candies on this trolley.

This cart had Zee Jelly Beans, Moonbeam bubblegum, peanut butter pasties, cauldron crunchies, lollipop wands (in 6 flavors), popkins...and a bunch of others. It reminded Henry of a foreign exchange student coming to his school and bringing with him a bunch of strange foods and candies not known to Newcrest children.

"Two of everything, please," Henry would have said to take all of it, but he didn't want to put out any other children from getting things. The cart lady looked at him quizzically until Henry pulled out the Magicoins to pay for it. Her eyes widened and she started to get bags out of a hidden drawer in the cart. Henry got the feeling she didn't have to do that too often because she had to open a new box.

From the open door, Henry could see Jon staring at him in wonderment.

With his purchase, Henry stepped a bit out of the way into the compartment to let the lady pass. He watched her until she got to the very end of the trolley and then she said, "brown, please," and went right through the back wall of the trolley! It reminded him of the portal at the train station, there one second, gone the next. Henry realized that must be how you move from trolley to trolley. He watched for a bit longer and was just about to sit back down when he saw a couple of older girls pass his compartment catching up on what they did over summer. They didn't even break stride as they passed through the back of the trolley and disappeared. She didn't even mention a color!

Henry's face must have looked white as he blurted.

"Those girls just went through to another colored trolley and didn't say anything!"

"You don't even have to say it out loud," Jon called from the compartment and Henry sat down. "You can just think what trolley you want to travel to before you step through."

"What if you forget and just walk through?" Henry had visions of plummeting straight…

"You just go to the nearest one," Jon answered and looked a bit put out. "Jac had a bit of fun when she first told me about it, saying that you had to shout which trolley you wanted to be transported to or else you'll just fall right out of the back. Apparently, the older students make a game of seeing who embarrasses themselves. It took asking Matt and Jack a solid week about it before they caved and told the truth."

"Thanks for the heads up" said Henry, just as he heard someone exclaim 'RED TROLLEY!' eliciting a few laughs from a compartment a few sections back.

"Must be hungry, huh?" He eyed the bags of goodies from the cart and Henry tipped them all out on the seat next to him. As he was doing this, Jon took out a paper sack lunch and unwrapped it. There were four sandwiches inside. Jon made a disgusted face.

"She always mixes up our favorites. I hate turkey but Matt loves it...these are his sandwiches and I bet he has my roast beef," Jon set them down and sighed.

"Don't worry! That's why I got two of everything!" Henry said happily and Jon sat up straighter, confused but interested. Henry had never had enough of anything to share with someone before. It was an amazing feeling, sitting with Jon as he explained to Henry what he should try first and how he should eat it. The sandwiches were a distant memory.

"Okay so how about these...what are they?" Henry held up a purple package that read Popkins: Chocolate Pumpkin Spiced Truffles to Warm You Whenever. At the bottom corner of the packaging a bright, gold advertising bubble was printed in red letters Will Your Popkin Have a Secret Spooky Face? Collect them All! "They're not...spicy..are they?"

"Not at all! They're really good. Maybe you'll have one that's spooky faced. I'm missing a bunch but I knew a kid that collected them all."

"What?"

"Oh! That's right, sorry um...Popkins either look just like a normal, miniature pumpkin or...sometimes they have these faces on them. They can be pretty spooky or pretty silly. They then spit out a trading card of famous wizards or witches dating as far back as...well...ever! I've got to check on my collection sometimes. Not to sound mean but many kids eat Popkins so much that the trading card aspect sort of becomes boring. You're having me see it through new eyes again!" Jon smiles and Henry did too, tearing open the bag and plucking a tiny, chocolate pumpkin between his index finger and thumb. Sure enough, it had a little, spooky face on one of the sides. A teeny card slipped out of its mouth for the Popkin isn't bigger than a ping pong ball.

Henry took the card and popped the Popkin in his mouth. First he tasted creamy chocolate and then...an explosion of spicy pumpkin that tasted better than probably the best pumpkin pie he never got to have at a Doofly Harvestfest. Just as it advertised, the feeling it gave his throat and stomach when he swallowed the chewy candy warmed him in a completely pleasant and comforting way.

The card was tiny but as he licked chocolate off his fingers, he realized the card was growing to a normal playing card size. How neat!

"It's just like a Voidcritter card!" Henry said.

"What?" asked Jon while he munched on the other half of his candies Henry had bought for them.

"Back home we have these trading cards. They're...fake animals with powers that you can trade and battle them on a computer. I...always got some from my cousin when he traded for better ones." It felt good to be explaining something to Jon Parsley for a change. Especially when the latter was looking very intensely interested.

"That sounds so cool! What kinds of powers do these animals have? Are you sure they're fake? Maybe some are actually real? It could happen!" He paused and looked towards Henry's card. An image was developing like a polaroid camera. "Hey! Let's see who've got!"

IRIS SIMBLEDORE

CURREN HEADMISTRESS AT HARNOCKS

Many accounts consider the grandest wizard of our

modern era, Simbledore isnotoriously famous for

defeating Dark Wizards with prolific Untamed Magic.

Most notably Grizlebloom in the 1940's. She also

is known for finding sixteen ways to use dragon

plasma, and her work in potions with his

partner, Mitchell Flannel. Professor Simbledore

celebrates Normie culture and can be known

to enjoy rock n' roll music and foosball.

Henry was astonished to see that Simbledore was moving on his card. She blinked, nodded her head, and even yawned. Henry yelped when she stood up, stretched and walked right out of frame! His card was now just empty save for the tapestry background of wherever Henry had thought the picture had been taken.

"She left!"

"Yeah, she's got other cards to visit. Especially in this sort of time when a bunch of kids are eating Popkins," Jon eyed some more sitting near Henry's thigh and wordlessly, Henry handed him another handful.

"Help yourself," Henry said and gave Jon a couple more other candies as well. "You know in my wo...the Normie world...pictures just stay still."

"Stay still? Woah...that's wild," Jon gasped and completely meant it.

Henry turned his card over and over until he noticed Simbledore walked slowly back in fame and sat down again. She smiled a small but knowing smile as she looked right back at him. When she waved, Henry's face shot up to meet Jon's but he was too busy munching away happily to notice. He clearly was over the amazement of what Henry was witnessing and took to just eating the Popkins one by one. Every once in a while Henry would hear him mumble.

"Have that one. Have that one. UGH everyone has him."

Simbledore was scratching her nose and all of the discarded cards Jon had accumulated were actually waving to each other! A moving trading card could interact with another! This was breaking Henry's brain with amazement! A large green package was the last to be opened and Henry studied the label.

Zee's Jelly Beans: Any Flavor of Your Dreams!

"Be careful with those," Jon warned Henry as he sprinkled some in his hands. They looked like normal jelly beans. It was probably the most normal of all the candies and sweets he has tried so far. Well..the lollipop wands were pretty normal too. The curious thing though, was that they were all grayish white. How did you know which flavor you were getting? When Henry posed this question to Jon he giggled and started to explain.

"Rumor has it that the guy who invented them had a thick accent. 'Vatever you vish zem to zee! Zey vill zee!' and that's how they got their name," he began.

"Okay…?" Henry pressed.

"So what I'm saying is...you have to be careful. You have to imagine, or think, or say whatever flavor you want. It's impossible to think of nothing and trust me a popular prank is waiting for someone to just barely have it to their lips. You shout real loud a yucky thing which puts it into that person's mind and bam, they are eating a jelly bean that tastes like cement or chalk or...worse things," Jon shudders and Henry was having a hard time believing such flavors could actually be replicated. Jon reached over and plucked one out of Henry's palm.

"Tangerines!" Henry shouted just as Ron bit carefully into half of the bean. Instantly, the bean went bright orange and Jon handed Henry the other half. Was it weird in this stage of friendship to share candy like this? Henry had to see if it was true, though!

"Good one! Now it stays that flavor," Jon said and Henry popped it into his mouth. It tasted just like a juicy tangerine! "There are some ideas on the back of the package if you're not creative. I heard that someone was so good at clearing their mind and not thinking, that when he popped the jelly bean into his mouth it tasted like...like...boogers," Jon stuck his tongue out in disgust, "I hear it was because it was the last thing he saw before he ate the bean. My go to is black raspberry!" He bit into a bean.

"Yuck...I must have remembered the turkey sandwiches...this bean tastes like turkey lunch meat!" Henry began to laugh out loud and the two boys had a wonderful time eating the Zee's Jelly beans. Harry thought up cinnamon sugar toast, key lime pie, buttery mashed potatoes, blue ice cream with crushed cookies, pizza, and with Jon's suggestion, even braved to try and think up his jelly bean tasting like pencil, cardboard, and hard boiled eggs.

"It truly tastes like it, oh my Watcher, gross," Henry gagged and spat out one that Jon dared him to think of as the flavor of moldy bread. The boys' laughter stopped when the trolley began to lurch and bump. Jon had to explain to Henry what turbulence was and Henry asked why does it just not use actual tracks if it has wheels?

"The trollies didn't fly in my grandparent's day," Jon informed him. They ran on the track just like you saw on Platform Three and a Half. "But...something happened. Fighting and destruction during the times of The Unmentionable One. One of the things to be destroyed was the trolley track from Ravendancer to the station in Midnight Hollow. New spells were being discovered and created every day in those times. So...instead of rebuilding the track, the oldies just bewitched the trolleys to fly!"

Henry looked down and saw the countryside was now different. It was more untamed and wild. There were gnarled trees and forests, no more fields, and absolutely no more houses or even farms. Henry saw winding rivers with racing rapids, and dark, ominous mountains.

"Jon? Where even is Harnocks?" Henry wondered. Jon opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted when a short knock sounded on their compartment door. Two seconds later it slid open and the little girl who was looking for her toad that Henry had seen on Platform Three and One Half peaked in. Her chubby face was blotchy and swollen with tears.

"Afternoon, guys," she said shakily. "Have you seen my toad? I can describe him for you if you'd like but," she sighed, "he just looks like a normal toad." Her sad eyes were behind dreadfully choppily cut hair that resembled a cut for a boy. She wiped her face with two pudgy hands and her bottom lip trembled in spite of her supreme overbite.

Henry and Jon both shook their heads.

"I've lost him! Oh how will I even survive year one without a familiar?!" She began to cry thick, wet tears that fell from her eyes, down her double chins, towards her plump belly. Henry noticed that she was changed into her school robes and made a mental note to ask Jon when would be the best time to do the same.

"I'm sure you'll find him soon enough," Henry said gently. The girl nodded and wiped her running nose on the back of her enormous sleeve of her robe. Henry probably didn't fix his face of disgust quick enough.

"But if you see him…?" She pressed on and once again, both boys nodded. She nodded in return and quietly exited the compartment, closing the door behind her politely.

"It's no use being all worked up over a toad. They are the worst familiars, really," Jon said a bit huffy, "I guess I have no room to talk," his voice softened, "I have my brother's stupid hand-me-down rat. I don't really know what a familiar is supposed to do...but if it's what Scribbler does all day...that's definitely not it." Henry watched Jon stand up and pop open his trunk from below his seat. When he returned, he had his battered, scratched wand.

"I know...I was scared it wouldn't work too if some of the core was poking out...but Carl swears it will still work. I've tried to make Scribbler a bit more interesting. I had thought at one point I even had a simple spell down to at least turn him into a different color. "I think it goes like…" Jon was just about to recite the spell when the compartment door flew open and made Jon squeal like a pig. He dropped the wand and both boys jumped to see who had just barged in.

The toadless, chubby, short-haired girl was there again but she had someone with her. In obviously new, clean and pressed robes, the thinner girl opened her mouth to reveal very pronounced, very large two front teeth.

"Taryn here has lost her toad. It's a family familiar. Passed down from one to another." Her voice was very bossy but the way the girl known as Taryn looked at the other girl Henry could assume the latter wasn't inherently mean.

"Listen here, girlies we ain't seen no toad. We've already told you," Jon pointed to Taryn, "and now I'm telling you," he pointed to Taryn's companion. This new girl was not even listening to Jon. Instead, her hazel eyes were focused on Jon's wand.

"You're not supposed to be doing magic on the trolley. Especially as a first year. I spent all summer reading up on rules and regulations for caster etiquette and I remember reading it, of course," she screwed her mouth to the side and arched her eyebrow. "But...if you're going to be trying, let's see it!" Completely uninvited, she sat down right next to Jon and the girl known as Taryn sat tentatively next to Henry.

"But...my toad…?" Taryn whispered to her friend but the other girl quieted her down.

"This will get your mind off of it. We'll look after this, I won't lie and say I've been hankering to see some real magic ever since I got my letter. Rules or not I don't want to miss this! Especially if he's good," she turned and squinted to Jon. "You are good, right?"

"Er...um…" was all Jon could choke out.

With some brevity, he cleared his throat and picked up his wand.

"Oceans, berries, jay birds, too…," the girls were looking at him expectantly, "turn this lazy, fat rat blue." As he chanted, he swirled his wand tip around the rat in question. Just before the girls arrived, he had gotten it out of his pocket to show Henry. After his chant was over, he tapped the rat gently on the head with the tip.

Nothing happened. Scribbler was still gray and still snoozing.

"What a shame," the slimmer girl said. She tried to smooth her absolutely huge, bushy hair behind her ears. To no avail, it was dark, bronze, and had very tight curls. Her mom or stylist or whoever had it cut no longer than the very bottom of her cheek bones. After that, it went left and right in all directions but Henry could see she had meant for it to at some point be parted to the right. "I'm sorry but I'm not so sure what you just attempted was even a real spell at all," she said and had the decency to quell her overbearing tone, "you gave it a good try though."

Then she took one large inhale.

"I've tried a few spells here and there. Just under my breath and without my wand. I don't want to get in trouble, after all. I can tell some work because the air just feels...different. And why shouldn't they work? I've learned and studied all of my textbooks and I'm not exaggerating when I say I know some of the passages by heart," she finally allowed herself to breath. She was a lot. And Henry wanted to be annoyed with her. But she did that thing again where she softened her voice and seemed more shy.

"Nobody in my family are casters. I'm complete Normie blood. I thought I was downright pranked when my letter showed up in the post. It took some processing on both me and my parents' part but when the strangeness subsided we were so pleased and excited! Harnocks is the best school of wizarding and spell casting. I happened to get a book on many other such schools at Caster's Alley. The graduating classes of other schools compared to Harnocks are laughable," she tried to breathe again.

Henry knew he was focusing on the wrong thing, but all he could feel for this girl was intense jealousy that she was of Normie blood and her family was not only accepting of her caster gift but...excited.

"I'm Esmani Ghadjer, by the way," she sticks her thumb towards Taryn sitting next to Henry fidgeting something awful, "and that's Taryn Goodfellow.

"Es-what-y?" Jon said a bit harshly.

"Ez-MON-ee Hah-jee-ar," Esmani said slowly while looking totally put off.

"Jon Parsley," he muttered in response.

"Henry Puffer," said Henry.

"NO way! You're really him?" Exclaimed Esmani. "I know all about you...okay wow, ew that sounded creepy...I mean...I've READ all about you. Like I said, I got a few other books at the bookshop for some backdrop reading. Reading helps me fall asleep."

"I'm in...textbooks…?" Henry was dumbfounded.

"You bet! I read about what happened to you in," she ticked off a finger with every title she mentioned, "Modern Magical Marvels, Rise and Fall of Untamed Casters, Greatest Wizarding Events Encyclopedia, and my personal favorite, Events of the twentieth Century Compared to that of Normies." Her eyes widened in excitement, "It's so cool for a Normie born like me. You read it and like, it says…'so you know how Ignasio Toompatoro said a spell wrong and caused the roof to cave in at the Jacoban Church in Sunset Valley...well in Normie news they say it was because of rotting rafters!' It's like...it's like I'm learning history events from a more truthful point of view!"

"That's…" but Henry couldn't say anymore he was in such a daze.

"Not to be rude because it was tragic but if it were ME...I'd be reading up ALL about it and," she clamped her wagging jaw tight. Again, Henry got the impression that this girl didn't mean to come off across the way she did. He just happened to believe maybe her brain worked faster than her mouth. "I guess...no...if it were my parents I...wouldn't be bothered rereading that at all," she looked sympathetically towards Henry and did a mighty fine job of changing the subjects. Jon was looking considerably more annoyed.

"Have you boys talked about what Houses you'd hope to be in?"

"Only girls care about stupid stuff like that, it's just where you lay your head at night," Jon said yet again, very harshly. Henry knew his new friend did not like this girl very much at all. Esmani frowned but didn't seem in the slightest put off by Jon.

"Alppagard seems to have the consensus of being the best. Simbledore was in that House when she went to Harnocks and now she's the headmistress! Owlenmoon doesn't sound so bad either, now that I think about it though," she rose to her feet. "We better head off and keep looking for Taryn's toad. Also," she looked at Henry, "you better get changed. I've read that students that fail to be dressed in uniform upon exiting the trolley's get consequenced straight away. That wouldn't be a good first impression." Henry was glad that someone had answered that question. Even if it was someone as goody two shoes as Esami.

The two girls left and Jon was still grumbling.

"Whatever House I'm in she better not be," he groaned. His wand lay at his side and he threw it back in his trunk. "I should have known any spell given to me by Matt and Jack was a joke."

"I see Matt is in Alppagard," Henry began, "what were your other brother's in?"

"All Alppagard. Even mom and dad were too. That's the other reason some of my family don't like Jack, being an Owlenmoon and all. I guess I don't know what mom and dad would say if I was put into Owlenmoon but it can't be too bad if Jack is in it now, right?" Jon left the conversation to hang in silence for a beat. "Imagine Ivybell, though," he shuddered.

"Hagish told me that was Mor...the Unmentionable One's House."

"Yeah it was," Jon was looking mighty deflated.

"On the bright side, I think one of Scribbler's whiskers is blue," Henry tried to lighten the mood and as Jon put the protesting rat right up to his face, Henry continued. "What do your oldest brothers do now that they've gone and graduated? What jobs do wizards even hold?"

What is the point in magic if you can't use it?

"Carl is in Dragon Valley participating in higher studies of Dragon lore and care. Bill...I think last I heard he is somewhere in the jungles of El Salvador. Maybe for Bingpott's? I'm not sure. He's pretty mobile. Speaking of that do you know what the Diurnal Diviner is?"

"I do, actually," Henry was so glad that he actually knew something in the caster world. It was the newspaper Hagish was reading on the boat from the lighthouse. His first day knowing what he was...it seemed ages ago but somehow also yesterday.

"Someone tried to rob a very high security vault!"

Henry could only stare dumbly.

"What's even stranger? Nothing has come of it! They were never caught...yet. My dad thinks maybe a powerful Untamed wizard had to be the culprit to get round Bingpott's. Have you ever been there? It's all underground with no escape except a rickety mining railway. People get all in a tizzy. When these things happen most get all frantic and think it's the Unmentionable One but he's been gone for…"

"People still worry about him?" Henry didn't mean to interrupt. He just kind of blurted it out. Jon nodded his head and that made Henry feel the first prickles of fear for this unknown murderer of his parents. It was probably best to just get used to it, Henry decided. If he wanted to assimilate into this Realm he had to accept it for it's goods and its bads. He still could feel a bit shaken up now and then.

"What Grilled Cheese Dueling Team do you root for?" Jon asked.

"I don't know any," Henry confessed.

"So your aunt and uncle kept you from that too?" Jon looked dumbfounded as he shook his head. "They really were something else!" He was off. He explained the six positions, the equipment used, some of the famous professional team outside of Harnocks, and he even delved into a bit about it's many name changes and rule amendments. He really knew his stuff! Henry listened as he recounted his most favorite team and favorite players past and present. He also confided in which broom the best players used and if he had the money he would trade anything to have one just the same. Jon had to use the restroom, which gave Henry time to change into his robes for the first official time. They felt great and professional if not a bit costume-like and strange. Henry and Jon both met back up in the same compartment and Jon was picking up like he never left off on the best plays to billow the most heat when their compartment door slid open yet again. It was not Taryn Goodfellow or even Esmani Ghadjer this time.

Henry's heart sank.

He recognized the middle girl out of throng. Her possi had one other girl and a very scary looking boy. This was the girl Henry had met about a month ago in Madam Magnolia's robe shop. There was a wild look in her pale blue eyes behind those ornate, expensive glasses.

"I've had it with the rumors and I had to come myself to see if it were true," she squinted her eyes at Henry. "You're Henry Puffer?"

"Yes," Henry said. He wasn't looking at the girl speaking. He was looking at her friends. The girl was too thin and looked like a bird of prey. Intensely mean with not a lot of brain. And the boy was no better except he looked like a warthog that lost its tusks. The way they were flanking the pale girl made it seem like they were her entourage or bodyguards.

"This is Lobby and O'Doyle," she threw her head in the direction of the girl and boy respectfully when she said their names. "And I'm Kimmi Slymer. We met at Magnolia's. Do you remember? I'm pretty sure you'd remember me." How stuck up could one person be?

Henry nodded and tried very hard not to show his mirth that the surname of 'Symer' was too perfect for a girl like this. She was snotty, sniveling, and slimy. Jon must have been able to read Henry's mind, because he let out a teeny cough to cover up a snicker. Kimmi's eyes went dark and cold as she appraised him.

"So you think my name is funny? I don't even have to ask to know you are a Parsley. Name suits your family since you all grow like weeds with children you can't afford. My father says you can pick out a Parsley by their beedy, slanted eyes." Jon's cheeks went scarlet. Henry was completely confused because from the siblings he's seen, sure Whinnie, Jon, and Perry favor their mother's eye structure but Matt…?

Kimmi turned to Harry. "If there is one thing my family hates to see more than mixing blood is a family that mixes races. NO proper wizarding families should mix with wizarding families from," her voice got low, "other worlds." With arms crossed her eyes raked over Henry's form which made him very uneasy. "Ancient blood or not you'll soon learn that some families in the Realm of Magic are just plain better than others, Puffer. You don't want to ruin your reputation by mingling with their sort. So...I think it'd be best if you just let me help you with that."

She held out her hand for Henry to shake. Henry reached out to take it and saw Jon's face fall out of the corner of his eye. Just as his fingers were about to meet his, he shot his hand up quickly to adjust his glasses with a very wry smile. Jon's whole face exploded with light.

"I think I can choose my friends for myself, Kimmi. But you are right, I am learning quickly just who are the wrong sort of wizarding families," he said cooly with a click of his tongue and his hand with his index finger out and his thumb up.

Kimmi Slymer blanched, but composed herself very quickly. Henry noticed the tip of her nose started to turn a faint pink with the startings of what Henry hoped was embarrassment.

"Be careful, Puffer," she said slowly. "You could do with being a bit politer. If not, I'd imagine you'll go down the same way as your parents. My father told me they didn't know what was any good for themselves either. But be my guest to hang with scum like Hagish or a Parsley...collect the whole set and fix yourself up with a Normie blood friend for all I care."

Henry's mind flashed to Esmani.

"Their sort will end up just getting you murdered by someone stronger and better."

Both boys stood up and squared up. They didn't care if she was a girl. O'Doyle stepped up too and he was way too tall to be eleven, Henry thought.

"You want to fight me, you are worse than I thought Henry," Kimmi said in an odd tone. "Just know that O'Doyle will take care of you short-term and my father will take care of you long-term with you being expelled before you even reach the grounds, think on that."

"Just leave then, Kimmi," Henry was getting braver.

"Nah, I don't think I want to," she crooned. "I'm hungry and I see you've got plenty of extra candy to share." She snapped her fingers and Lobby and O'Doyle made a move to reach it.

Magus was becoming extremely irritated in his cage and flapped his wings. The commotion startled Scribblers, who was napping on some discarded candy wrappers. When he saw O'Doyle's fat fingers coming towards him, he reacted like any startled rat would.

"OW! THIS TROLLEY HAS RATS!" O'Doyle screamed and Scribblers was crawling up O'Doyle's arm at the moment. Kimmi let out an insanely girly shriek and pulled Lobby with her out of the compartment. O'Doyle's huge hand wiped Scribbler away and he too, ran out after tripping over absolutely nothing along his way. Scribbler hit the trolley window pretty hard.

"What in the world happened?" Esmani Ghadjer came running into the compartment. "I've never seen a girl like Kimmi Slymer look so scared of a rat...I mean...she looks just like one." Jon gawked and Henry stared at her. It happened little by little but soon, all three children were laughing at the ridiculous but perfectly timed joke.

"He's not knocked out," Jon proclaimed. "Just back to sleep."

"You've met Slymer before?" Esmani asked Henry.

Henry recounted the story to both her and Jon.

"Everyone has heard of her family," Jon sneered. "The fall of The Unmentionable One came and they were the first ancient blood family to plead allegiance to the lighter side. They claimed they were cursed, bewitched, hexed...all the excuses. My mother and father don't believe a word. Listen to how that girl talks it's just...no one with a heart would talk like that and I hear Untamed wizards don't have one." His eyes appraised Esmani rudely.

"Can we help you?"

"Yeesh, I was just letting you know the conductor has told me we should be arriving soon. You were the only people I knew that weren't dressed and," she gestured to the boys, "I can see you are. I was just trying to help."

"If you define help as meddling, then you're an extremely helpful person." Jon groaned.

"Attention students, we are beginning our descent and will hit the railways in five minutes. Please leave all of your luggage on the train. It will be taken to the school separately. Do be sure to be in your robes looking neat at this time. Thank you."

Henry's stomach fell and lurched back up again very quickly. It nearly made him sick. It made him feel a bit better to look at Ron and see he too, looked a bit green with nerves.

"Stuff the sweets into whatever empty pockets you have," advised Henry and Jon followed Henry's lead. Compartment doors were all sliding open and students were filing into the hallway. Henry looked at Magus and he looked not even the slightest alarm. As if it were any other weekday occurrence.

The trolley hit the railway with a bit of a bump and some students lost their footing. When the trolley whistles signalling it was safe to deboard, Henry was pushed so violently he almost fell flat on his nose. He recovered quickly and chased after Jon onto the dark platform. Once safe from throngs of people, Henry stopped to actually look around.

Truth be told, this platform looked abandoned. The walk was cracked and growing thistles, lanterns were lit with fire, and the glass on the grand clock had a crack in it. Henry soon realized that it was twilight. Jon shivered. It was chilly this evening.

"First years! First years! If you're a first year student, gather around!"

"I know that voice! Come on!" Henry snatched Jon's sleeve and led him into a brisk pace to keep up. Just as he suspected, Henry saw Hagish's spire like frame absolutely tower over the small first year students.

"Come along, come along! Mind your step, follow hastily, now. We don't want yins to be late!" Henry, Jon, and the rest of the gaggle slipped and stumbled once the stone of the platform turned into a steep, muddy hill. The path was dirt and full of tree roots and stone. Some children had begun to cry. Taryn Goodfellow was one of them. I don't think anyone expected it to be like this. It was like an ill advised hike to somewhere scary. Henry thought they were going to school. Not this.

"None of that, none of that, look here! Harnocks is just ahead. You'll be getting your first look right around this corner," Hagish said gently in response to the sniffling. "Every first year has to do it this way and every first year after you will too, now look!"

"Ooooooooh! Ahhhhhh! Oh my gosh it's HUGE!" Were just some of the responses Henry heard ahead of him until he could assess the spectacle with his own eyes.

The narrow, difficult trail opened to reveal the outer banks of a daunting, black lake. Dustings of fog rolled along its surface. In the middle of the lake, perched on top of a mountainous range was an enormous castle with glittering windows against the backdrop of the starry sky. Henry's mouth hung open as he took note of the plentiful towers, turrets, spires, tunnels, corridors, and bridges. At the bank were twenty or so small row boats. They had a lone pole that held a candle lantern acting as a headlight of sorts.

"Boats? We're crossing the lake?" One girl squealed.

"No more than four to a boat," Hagish called and started tapping heads for all of the children to get into the tiny row boats. Henry and Jon were accompanied by Esmani and Taryn. Magically, the boats were moored to the shore, and then suddenly, they weren't.

"We're moving!" Taryn gasped. "But no one is rowing!"

The fleet of tiny boats glided across the lake, not a ripple to be had on its inky surface. Not a single child uttered a word. Most were too in awe as the castle began to get bigger and bigger before them. It's grandeur was immense with each creep closer and closer of the boat.

"Mind your heads!" Hagish called out from some other boat and every student that Henry could see ducked. It was easy to tell who didn't in time by them squealing or voicing their disgust. Taryn was one of them.

"Yuck!" she cried as slimy ivy brushed the top of her head.

They were entering a tunnel that was open right in the side of a mountain. Curtained only with the ivy. Henry guessed it must lead right under the castle. They probably then take some stairs and…

"Careful as you exit," Hagish advised and just as Henry suspected, they were inside a mountain underneath Harnocks. The underground harbor was just as creepy. Henry stepped out and his shoes sunk into loose pebbles. Taryn tripped but was caught by Esmani.

"Taryn! Is that your toad?" Esmani pointed to the bank where a toad sat completely unbothered. Taryn broke into a run despite her feet sinking a bit.

"Fenton!" She cried. Blissfully, she held the toad in her hands and rubbed it's scaly body along her cheek. If it wasn't a myth, she was going to have some nasty warts by doing that. She didn't linger long as many of the students clamored out and rushed to meet up with Hagish. The stones gave way to smooth pavement at the foot of a marvelous, ivory staircase.

Hagish's eyes were moving insanely fast as he must have been counting and making sure all students were accounted for. Henry looked back and saw the boats gently float backwards to where they had come from.

"That seems to be everyone," Hagish looked to Taryn, "toad secure?"

She nodded.

"Alrighty, firsties! Let's start that term!" With a chuckle Hagish reached up to a huge, iron door knocker on a massive round, castle door made of solid oak.